Primary Outcomes (end points)
1. Impact of digital payments on payments infrastructure: We will examine whether guaranteed transactions extend the payments infrastructure by collecting individual-level data on access to digitized payment (confirmed receipt of funds), whether the account is active (at least one transaction in survey month), the number of transactions, and the quantity of funds in the account, as well as agent-level data on the number of accounts opened monthly, the number of clients the agent sees, and the daily volume of transactions processed.
2. Impact of digital payments on broader DFS usage: We will examine whether digital G2P payments lead to broader DFS usage by collecting individual-level data on the magnitude of formal vs informal savings and credit, recipient trust in banks and mobile banking, and the number of family and
community members engaged in DFS, as well as agent-level data on the number of non-G2P clients serviced, the number of cash-out transactions, and the demand for credit, insurance, or new bank accounts.
3. Impact of digital payments on financial inclusion for women: We will examine whether women specifically benefit from digital G2P transfers using individual-level data on bank account access, financial literacy, number of transactions, likelihood of suffering from a consumption shock (in health, marriage, education, agriculture), bargaining power in the household, and occupational choice, each disaggregated by gender; in addition to agent-level data on the gender composition of clients and the likelihood of interacting with a female client.
4. Optimal payment design: We aim to optimize the design of Bangladeshi social support payments by examining the varied timing of payments and whether clients receive reminders or information and collecting individual-level data on the regularity of financial activity as well as persistence in activity.
5. Impact of digital payments on corruption: We will measure the impact of digization on corruption, leakage, and targeting by collecting individual-level data on whether the transfer was received and the size of transfer, how quickly the transfer was obtained (transaction time and costs), and the variance in transaction costs, as well as agent-level data on the amount received from the government (using administrative data) and amount received by intended vs unintended clients (to measure leakage and targeting).